By Vikas Datta
An art contemporary Indians seem to have forgone is of using an apt quote from a rich and vibrant literary tradition -- and recognising the usage. In what is among his trademark dialogues, Bollywood actor Raaj Kumar declaims in his bombastic drawl: "Hum ko mita sake yeh zamaane mein dam nahi. Hum se zamaana khud hai zamaane se ham nahi." This, however, didn't come from the script-writer's pen but from a ghazal by one of the most famous Indian poets ever.
And so well-known was Ali Sikandar 'Jigar Moradabadi' in his time that he is depicted unnamed in a key scene in Guru Dutt's legendary "Pyaasa" (1957), with the expectation that the audience would recognise him from his appearance, mannerisms and above all, the poetry he recites.
The scene is of the soiree preceding that Sahir Ludhianvi dirge on arbitrary unfairness of relationships ("Jaane woh kaise log the....") where there are two guests of honour -- a gaunt man reciting a sonorous lyric (Asrar-ul-Haq 'Majaz Lakhnavi') and an older, traditionally-dressed man with old-world manners (Jigar).
It is the latter who also advances the narrative, politely rebuking someone who seemed to make fun of the "poetic" household where servants are also composing verse, saying: 'Mian, shayri sirf daulat-mando ki jaagir nahi," before turning to the "servant" and kindly asking: "Tum kuch keh rahe the, barkhurdar? Chup kyun ho gaye? Kaho, kaho."
But that was Jigar (1890-1960) for you. A bridge between the old and new worlds, not only in poetry but also in thought and manners, always affable and approachable in both his life and poetry, and eagerly in demand at "mushairas" which he virtually set afire with his romantic and evocative lyrics, recited in a melodious cadence.
He was not a profound poet, in the tradition of, say, Mirza Ghalib or Allama Iqbal, with philosophy and metaphysics underpinning his verse, nor did his work reflect the burning political and social issues of his time, like of his younger colleagues of the Progressive movement ("Un ka jo farz hai who ahl-e-siyasat jaanen/Mera paigham mohabbat hai jahan tak pahunche," he wrote), but Jigar has a special position in Urdu literature, as those who took the ghazal to a new status in the 20th century.
His art was not just its usually perceived staple of love and longing -- which he did deal with, but differently from contemporaries, while also incorporating a larger size of life and existence, especially an acceptance of its challenges. His particular forte was of the human being's centrality and control over fate -- which is not only evident in "Humko mita sake.." but also in shers like "Apna zamana aap banate hai ahl-e-dil/Ham woh nahi ke jisko zamana bana gaya".
Born in Moradabad to a family that had been serving the Mughals for long, Jigar did not have much formal education but soon was inclined towards poetry, which seemed a family trait, with some of his ancestors and his grandfather and father being poets. Starting to write at the age of 15, he took instruction from the celebrated Nawab Mirza Khan 'Dagh Dehlvi', who however died soon. His ustaad subsequently was Munshi Hayat Baksh 'Rasa Rampuri'.
After the death of his father, Mohammed Ali Nazir, he worked as an optician (or a travelling salesman for optical products, as per another source), and eventually shifted to Gonda town, northeast of Lucknow, where he befriended Asghar Hussain 'Asghar Gondvi', who became a mentor, friend and father figure (Jigar also married the sister of his wife).
His poetry, collected in "Daag-e-Jigar", "Sholey Toor" and "Atish-e-Gul" (earning him an honorary D.Litt from the Aligarh Muslim University -- only the second to a poet after Iqbal -- and a Sahitya Akademi Award), is usually simple but lively and vivid too. Take his best-known couplets like: "Yeh ishq nahi asaan itna hi samajh lijiye/Ek aag ka darya hai aur doobh ke jaana hai" or "Ham ishq ke maaron ka itna hi fasaana hai/Rone ko nahi koi hansne ko zamaana hai".
He can take one in an unexpected direction. Take "Gulshan-parast hoon mujhe gul hi nahi azeez/Kaanto se bhi nibaah kiye jaa raha hoon main", or "Teri aankhon ka kuch kasur nahi/Haan mujhi ko kharab hona thaa".
Jigar can frequently achieve a melodious rhythm too: "Vo main saaf kyun na kah doon jo hai farq tujh mein mujh mein/Tera dard dard-e-tanha mera gham gham-e-zamana" or using the thorns he is fond of reminding us of: "Kaanton ko bhi haq hai aakhir/Kaun churhaye apna daman/Phool khile hain gulshan gulshan/Lekin apna apna daman".
And he was self-deprecating to the extreme. The ghazal which begins with "Ham ko mita sake.. ends with such an epitaph: "Marg-e-Jigar pe kyun teri aankhen hain ashk-rez/Ek saaiha sahi magar itni aham nahi".
(Vikas Datta is an Associate Editor at IANS. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
